China to target websites touting ‘foreign brides’

Chinese police will clamp down on websites that sell men group tours to meet ‘foreign brides’ in Southeast Asian countries, as the practice leads to human trafficking and prostitution, the state-run China Daily reported on Monday.

The newspaper noted several so-called ‘marriage brokerages’ were active in Vietnam, promising young women introductions to rich Chinese men from big cities, whereas many victims ended up duped into being ‘sold’ as brides to villagers in rural China.

‘Some cross-border marriage brokerages or websites have been publishing tempting advertisements to introduce Vietnamese brides for cross-border marriages, but most involve kidnappings,’ Wang Ying, an official with the Ministry of Public Security responsible for combating human trafficking, was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

‘Once their client takes a liking to a foreign girl, they cheat her and persuade her to have a wedding in Vietnam, then charge their male client 30,000 to 50,000 yuan ($4,900 to $8,150) as a service charge,’ said Wang.